Title

Author

Degree Type

Thesis

Date of Award

2011

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Horticulture

First Advisor

Michael E. Reinert

Abstract

Board members, administrators, and faculty at Gifft Hill School, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, required a method for recording, organizing, and communicating information about the property and facilities on the school grounds. This information will be used while planning and managing facilities expansion. In addition to these physical attributes of the property and facilities Iowa State University desired a way of recording growing conditions to inform the design and manage of a school garden program. Geographic information systems (GIS) were evaluated as a possible solution to managing this spatially variable information. Using ArcGIS, Global Positioning System (GPS), data available from government agencies, and data collected on-site, we built a GIS for Gifft Hill School. In 2010, we collected and mapped environmental variation at candidate locations for school gardens. By mapping land cover and current and planned buildings, we determined the most suitable locations for initial school gardens using ArcGIS model builder and calculated site areas for budgeting purposes. We combined GIS and GPS to plan a trail through dense vegetation between the two Gifft Hill School campuses. The use of GIS to collect and manage information about the site and facilities has been successful in initial planning and construction activities.